Financial lock on phone after 30 days of buying. Return rejected.

[jhusen]

Hi there,

I have been an eBay Australia user for over 5 years. I bought a used Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra on Nov 21 (for about $500). I have had it as a back up phone. I used the phone 2 weeks ago and upgraded it to One UI6. After a restart the phone is showing a blocking message from a financial institution. Nothing in the phone is usable. I contacted the seller immediately and they didn't even respond back to me. I raised a return request and it was rejected with a note that I did something to the phone after buying it. They were able to use the phone just fine since Apr 2023 after it was gifted to them by their relative.

To get more detailed evidence, I emailed the financial company based in Australia on the contact as displayed in the message. They responded back informing me that the phone was rented out and they own the phone and at the time of the sales (Nov 21), the phone was sold to me illegally. They asked me to contact the seller for a return and refund and that they cannot unlock the phone. I contacted the seller again with all of this information and was completely ignored.

I contacted eBay support who initially said they cannot force a return or refund as this is beyond the 30 days money back guarantee but they will check with seller if they can reconsider to issue a refund. I recently followed up and provided the financial institution email evidence (along with screenshot of the IMEI number from order description photo and the same IMEI displayed on the blocking message on the phone). This time eBay support told me that the seller have not responded to them either and have asked me to submit a proof of police complaint even though this was not the recommendation from the financial institution. 

If anyone has prior experience in a similar situation, is it to contact the police the next right step. Would the email from financial institution claiming their right to ownership not sufficient (and eBay is free to contact them directly to confirm this)?

What sort of document or letter is expected to be provided by police in this case?

Should I try contacting fair trade for advice before contacting police?

Thanks in advance for any advice which could guide me in this issue.

[countessalmirena]

If eBay is willing to assist you with a refund past the 30 day period and have asked you to submit a police report, go ahead and do that!

It’s not an unusual or unreasonable step, except that it’s unusual for eBay to help past the timeframe of that 30-day period. Grab the opportunity.

[sugar249]

A couple of questions. or are they observations.

Why is the financial institute saying don't contact the police?  Sounds odd to me.

Ebay is only a sales platform facilitating a sale from a seller to a buyer,  but they do go a little beyond with their MBG.   But at the end of the day you purchased allegedly stolen goods from the seller, so the issue is between you and the seller.

Sorry but it sounds like a police matter and not an Ebay matter.   But be careful about how you handle it, because at the moment you are holding onto allegedly stolen goods.

[domino-710 · Accepted solution]

OK - you have all it takes to file a police report.

This should consist of all you have found - printed in a statement - and handed over the counter at the polce station.

Along with the phone.

Don't worry about the rubbish mentioned about stolen goods - you are the one actually reporting it.

[sugar249 · Accepted solution]

---

@domino-710 wrote:

Don't worry about the rubbish mentioned about stolen goods - you are the one actually reporting it.

---

They are actually stolen goods, and if OP doesnt report them, they are implicate, 

I didnt say they stole them. 

 But they have known for some time now and they need to take action, not come to a forum and do nothing.  Ebay arent responsible, they are the ones holding the stolen goods, they need to take action,  they are trying to pass it to fair trade and  Ebay.   They need to take it to the police,

[jhusen]

Sorry. The financial institution did not ask me not to go to police but rather recommended to request for a return and refund through the platform where this was sold. I will reach out to the police as recommended by multiple members. 

[jhusen]

Thank you. I will follow this advice!

[domino-710]

Contrary to ' being implicated ' - you are not.

You didn't go to the back bar of the pub and purchase.

A prosecutor has to prove you did know/suspect the goods were stolen.

This doesn't even fit this scenario.

Make sure your statement to police contains all you are aware of - this will help them chase down the culprit.

[domino-710]

Just a thought - did you use PayPal ??

They give you 180 days - to make a claim - and they may be able to chase the culprit also.

[jhusen]

I bought this using my debit Mastercard.